What do the Seahawks do at QB?

Mired in a lockout with Charlie Whitehurst as the only quarterback on the roster, a new offensive coordinator, and after not drafting a quarterback in any round of the 2011 draft, the Seahawks quarterback position probably hasn’t looked this bad since the mid-90s.

Even though the Seahawks figure to take a quarterback very early in next year’s draft, with potential stars like Andrew Luck and Matt Barkley, as well as solid prospects like Landry Jones and Nick Foles, the team needs someone to play quarterback right now. Even if the team is ultimately better off tanking this season (which they won’t, even for Luck), they’ll need a backup, or a 2012 starter in all likelihood in addition to whatever combination of Hasselbeck and Whitehurst are in Seattle.

With that said, here are a few options they could look to acquire:

Matt Leinart

There is a harsh reality to face here, most quarterbacks with proven track records who are available have nothing left (Donovan McNabb), and most quarterbacks who have starting experience have experienced some level of failure. Leinart is a USC guy who was once considered a great West Coast Offense prospect. Arizona’s disregard for him may be overstated though, as they don’t run a WCO, and Leinart wasn’t a great fit for what they do run. If he comes to Seattle, or anywhere, he will have to compete for a job, and won’t make a lot of money next year.

Kevin Kolb

I don’t get the huge push for Kevin Kolb to any city. He’s posted four good games in his career, surrounded by mediocre-to-poor performances. The Cardinals are apparently willing to offer two second-round picks for Kolb, and for that price, I say they take him. The Seahawks traded essentially a third-round pick for Charlie Whitehurst, and I explained why it wasn’t so bad. But such a move is non-committal, and ultimately non-definitive process. If the Seahawks trade for Kolb not only will their success be tied to his right arm, but so will the fates of Pete Carroll and Jon Schneider. One hell of a risk to take on a guy who has played average or worse in more than half of his games.

Vince Young

The former Rookie of the Year has one of the most exciting skill sets in all of football. However, his inconsistency in accuracy and decision-making have turned him from a guy who put up ugly numbers but “just won” to a guy who puts up ugly numbers and has questionable desire and football intelligence. If a team can resurrect a once budding star, they may have the greatest reclamation on their hands since Cris Carter. If his head isn’t on straight, watch out Puget Sound area strip club bouncers.

Trent Edwards

Those that know me will be surprised to see I left Edwards off for so long. I’ve always been highly intrigued by Edwards, who has an adequate physical profile for an NFL quarterback, and a Stanford education. Of the quarterbacks drafted since 1995, outside of the first round, who rank in the top 10 in their category in starts, seven went to top-60 ranked academic colleges. Edwards was most recently seen backing up David Garrard in Jacksonville, and is presently a (pending) free agent.

Matt Flynn

The former seventh-rounder is riding high off of one good game. In Green Bay’s near-defeat of the Patriots in Week 15 of last year, Flynn played his ass off. Other than that his career has been pretty nondescript. However, he once single-handed threw Brian Brohm from the Packers practice facility to Buffalo, talk about arm strength.

The Rest

Guys like Matt Moore, Tarvaris Jackson, Brian Brohm, Bruce Gradkowski, and a variety of others exist because they exist. They’ve got experience in WCOs, but I can’t find any reason to believe they’re any more interesting than Pat Devlin or Greg McElroy.